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Period: 600 BCE to 500
Pre-modern Period
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264 BCE
Punic Wars - 1,520,691
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place, much like today's World Wars. The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus (or Poenicus), meaning "Carthaginian", with reference to the Carthaginians' Phoenician ancestry. -
204
Yellow Turban Rebellion - 4,582,576
Yellow Turbans, Chinese secret society whose members’ uprising, the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184–c. 204 CE), contributed to the fall of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Led by Zhang Jue, a Daoist faith healer who had gained numerous adherents during a widespread pestilence, the rebellion was directed against the tyrannical eunuchs who dominated the emperor. -
280
Three Kingdoms War - 37,947,332
st as the name implies, there were three regimes during the Three Kingdoms Period, Wei, Shu and Wu, originated in 220 AD when Wei replaced the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD-220 AD) and ended in 280 AD when the Wu was defeated by the Court of Jin. It is considered to be a special historical period full of power struggles and sophisticated military strategies. -
Period: 530 to 1487
Medieval Period
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755
An Lushan Rebellion - 36,000,000
An Lu-shan, original surname Kang, imperial name Xiongwu, (born 703, Yingzhou [now Chaoyang, Liaoning province], China—died 757, Luoyang, Henan province), Chinese general of Iranian and Turkish descent who, as leader of a rebellion in AD 755, proclaimed himself emperor and unsuccessfully attempted to found a dynasty to replace the Tang dynasty (618–907). Despite its failure, the rebellion precipitated far-reaching social and economic change. -
1206
Mongol Conquests - 40,000,000
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1370
Conquest of Timur - 20,000,000
Timur had established himself as a great military leader in 1358. He admired the leadership style of Genghis Khan and even claimed to be his descendent (although this has never been proven). His forces did have a marked resemblance to those that Genghis Khan commanded. -
Period: 1494 to
Modern Period
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1519
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire - 24,300,000
Between 1519 and 1521, Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés, took over the Aztec Empire. This event is called the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It was one of the most important events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was devastating to the Aztec people. By 1680, 94% of the Aztec population had died. -
Qing conquest of the Ming - 25,000,000
The transition from Ming to Qing or the Ming–Qing transition, also known as the Manchu conquest of China, was a period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in Manchuria, and the Ming dynasty of China in the south. -
Taiping Rebellion - 30,000,000
The Taiping rebellion was the world's bloodiest civil war. Lasting for 13 years from 1851 to 1864, it nearly toppled the Qing Dynasty and resulted in the death of 30 million people. -
World War I - 20,000,000
World War I an international conflict that in 1914–18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. The war pitted the Central Powers—mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey—against the Allies—mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. It ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused. -
World War II - 70,000,000
World War II conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The 70,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history.
